I've had a cold, which has developed into a chest infection for 6 weeks now and it's showing no signs of abating. Is this normal? I'm concerned because I'm due to have an important operation under GA fairly soon and I know they won't do a GA if I still have it.
I don't get many colds, perhaps 1 or 2 each winter and when I do they normally only last a few days or a week at most. Symptoms are fatigue and tiredness, a phlegmy cough, shortness of breath and a snotty nose. Early on I had some pretty bad headaches but they've passed now. I did a covid test early on which was negative, though I know that's not necessarily conclusive.
I have been to the GP who gave me a course of antibiotics which I finished a week ago. They did nothing. She did say I might need a chest X-Ray if it didn't improve, so that's probably my next move. Weirdly it doesn't seem to be infectious, my wife hasn't had it and I've just got back from a sailing holiday with 6 other blokes crammed in a small space for a week and none of them are showing symptoms.
I'm not really asking for medical advice - I will go back to my GP. I'm just interested to know if others have had such persistent colds recently as it's new to me! Is it a thing? Do I just have to ride it out?
I had same in Jan and T'Mrs has "sticky" Covid at the minute. Time and rest. Definitely seems to be more of a thing these days but could just be age
I'm experiencing a very mild sort of cold with most of the above symptoms but no noticeable fatigue but definitely disappointed how my legs have been feeling at recent CX races, actually hoping I DO have something which might explain why I've been feeling so weak.
It has sort of shifted through symptoms from sore/dry throat, bit of hoarseness, mild cough, now a bit of a phlegmy cough, always a little bit of a runny nose.
4 weeks now... 'Sticky' is a good description.
Yup, a few of my riding pals have had a lurgy that has taken a few weeks to shift.
Seems to pretend to have gone, then returns for a second helping.
I got off light with only a week of snot fest.
We are heading into the flu season now, so there may well be a few strains knocking about.
Hope it shifts soon.
With my tinfoil hat pulled down tight, I firmly believe that the original Covid (for a large part of the population) gave immune systems a serious kicking.
IANAD 😉 🙃
My eldest (16) had a cold that hung on for 3 weeks or so to the extent he wasn't cycling so must have been bad.
Leaving aside any specific medical stuff rest is really important.
I think it's a bit like a course of antibiotics you need to give it a few days after the symptoms have died down before you stop taking the pills/ stop resting.
Most of us on here are naturally not couch potatoes, otherwise we'd be on pringlestackworld.com so when we feel better we want to be out again or we are tempted while we're still just ABIT grotty to go for a ride.
Currently I've got a bit of a cold and I'm leaving the bike in the shed and minimising the amount of other non-essential activity until it's gone and then a bit more just to be sure. Even a dog walk and cutting up some old stuff to go in the car for the tip has made me tired today.
The closer I get to 50 the more I notice the need to down tools when I'm feeling substandard for as long as it takes despite probably being physically fitter in exercise terms than I've been since my early 30s.
Definitely go back to the doc, 2-4 weeks should see most symptoms off
With my tinfoil hat pulled down tight, I firmly believe that the original Covid (for a large part of the population) gave immune systems a serious kicking.
So-called long covid appears to be connected to all sorts of conditions including multi-organ problems and auto-immune conditions, but it's taken this long to start joining the dots
proper good long rest doing nothing is the way to go.
twice in the past 10 or so years, i have started with a cough/cold which i ignored and kept riding, then turned into a chest infection. which in turn both sparked my heart to revert back into AF.
I have just recovered (90%) from a bad cold with heavy coughing and sore throat. In total I think it lasted for 9 days.
I've had a cold for almost a month now. Keeps almost going away then coming back again. Only had a few days feeling really rough, but I'm so bored with the constant snot. Also the nosebleeds due to 4 weeks of nose blowing.
Had a pretty bad cold about 4 weeks ago, just wouldn't stop and clear up. Thought it was COVID but tested negative. I still keep having phlegmmy coughing fits despite otherwise everything now gone.
Very sore throat and endless endless coughing through the nite at it's worst. No end of snot, just horrible
I've also had a mild lurgy for a couple of weeks now - fatigue and brain fog made me do a covid test which was negative (but also expired).
Almost frustrating that it's not bad enough to take sickness absence.
Thanks all. Some reassurance there. I think it may finally be (very slowly) starting to ease. The coughing is easing and the snot/phlegm is not quite so prodigious. It's still quite bad first thing in the morning, but I'm no longer coughing up green golf balls all day long and I'm a lot less wheezy than at the height of it.
The worst thing is not having been able to ride or do much exercise at all, bar a gentle walk for a month and a half. Even operating the winch whilst sailing last week had me wheezing, coughing and exhausted. Any fitness I had has evaporated and I've gained a fair few pounds. It will return I'm sure.
I'm just a bit shocked at how a simple cold has persisted so long and ****ed me over so thoroughly after a lifetime of brushing them off with ease. Another "benefit" of ageing to add to a long list!
Annoying cold here too, had a week off feeling a bit crap so avoided exercise. Now back to normal in terms of riding but the ends of the cold won't go away
These days it seems I can't go out into more heavily populated public places without getting ill. It's getting a bit annoying really, since one of my pastimes involves going into heavily populated public places (live music). However getting ill massively impacts one of the main things that brings me joy - mountain biking.
Currently well over a week into feeling like crap after a truly excellent show. It's so regular that I am now weighing up how much I want to go to a show based on my almost guaranteed illness.
Had a couple of days where I was feeling improved, thought it was waning so went out for a not overly energetic ride. Now I'm wrecked again.
I firmly believe that the original Covid (for a large part of the population) gave immune systems a serious kicking.
Prior to covid I had a solid immune system - I could go a year without catching anything.
Two things happened. Firstly I got covid with destroyed my body for three months... but before that as a nation we spent a lot of time avoiding contact with people. I think an element of that natural immunity was lost during the lockdown era.
What works for me is upping the dose of my Asthma preventer inhaler for a couple of weeks.
So.... nearly in 8 weeks now and it's going nowhere.
I'm coming towards the end of my second course of antibiotics (different flavour) and have been given an inhaler. Neither seem to be doing anything, I'm still coughing up mucus every day and getting breathless with exertion. I am also booked in for a chest X-ray. Tomorrow I am dropping off a sputum sample with the docs in the hope they can identify what exactly I have so they can tailor any treatment.
I'm getting properly depressed about this now as I am due to have cancer surgery in a few weeks and this ****er could torpedo it. Sorry for the rant, nothing anyone on here can do but it makes me feel slightly better to let off some steam.
Rant a bleedin' away! No way of sugar coating it, that's shit and I see why you are totalled p***ed off with this lingering infection.
Hopefully the sample and x-ray gives them a far better idea of how to treat the infection.
Are you immunosuppressed or anything like that?
Either way, fingers crossed you get well enough to not have the op delayed matey.
^^ Just thought I'd ask but I assume a doctor would have told you you were immunosuppressed due to the cancer itself or associated treatment if that were the case.
As an aside I was pretty poorly for a good few week's earlier in the year after catching something from my 1 1/2 year old grandson.
I now refer to the little blighter as The Baby Faced Assassin.😉
Again good luck with the infection and the operation for that matter.
Good luck matey.
I was pretty poorly for a good few week's earlier in the year after catching something from my 1 1/2 year old grandson.
Small children are plague carriers. When my partner first started working from home as a childminder, they'd come in here with their "breathing" and everything. She was immune to it all having worked in schools for years, I dropped like a sack of shit with multiple successive ailments for months on end.
I'm experiencing a very mild sort of cold with most of the above symptoms but no noticeable fatigue but definitely disappointed how my legs have been feeling at recent CX races, actually hoping I DO have something which might explain why I've been feeling so weak.
It has sort of shifted through symptoms from sore/dry throat, bit of hoarseness, mild cough, now a bit of a phlegmy cough, always a little bit of a runny nose.
This has been my experience almost word for word over the last fortnight - other than the CX races.
There's definitely something doing the rounds that is a background lingerer rather than knocking you down quickly so you can get back up.